SRD Board: How can electoral areas opt out of services?

Will the SRD set up a transit system from Campbell River to the West Coast of Vancouver Island?

There has been friction between some of the Strathcona Regional Districts rural areas and municipalities in the past. This was thought to have ended with the new board, but there have been a couple of recent occasions when the electoral areas felt their wishes were being overridden. In both cases, this pertained to research rather than policy.  Electoral Areas A and D were not allowed to withdraw from the feasibility studies for a proposed transit system from Campbell River to the West Coast of Vancouver Island. None of the Electoral Areas were interested in having their Fire Departments come under the administration of a proposed Fire Chief for the SRD.  

Thus at the Board’s Feb 2 meeting, Regional Director Gerald Whalley of Area A announced, “The electoral areas have come to the unanimous conclusion that we are being unfairly treated by the Board. Therefore, I move that the Board convene an open mediated service review as soon as possible. And if I have a second for this motion, I will speak to it .”  

Continue reading SRD Board: How can electoral areas opt out of services?

Clock is running out for Canada to help secure a global treaty to protect the ocean

 Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

It’s do-or-die time for Canada and the rest of the international community to finally get a deal done to protect the world’s oceans, say global leaders, environmental groups, and celebrity activists.

International delegates are hunkering down in the back rooms at the United Nations in New York until March 3 in a last-ditch attempt to broker a legally binding deal to protect biodiversity on the high seas. 

Continue reading Clock is running out for Canada to help secure a global treaty to protect the ocean

SRD Board; Cortes Island Fire Department needs more money

Cortes Island residents will most likely be paying a great deal more for their fire department this year. The Cortes Island Fire Department (CIFFA) is asking the SRD for about $127,000 more in 2023. CIFFA hopes to obtain $381,000 from property taxes. 

Their request was received as correspondence at the Wednesday, Feb 22, meeting of the SRD Board.

Continue reading SRD Board; Cortes Island Fire Department needs more money

‘I couldn’t just sit back and watch’

By Mark Brett, Penticton Herald, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

When she began helping Ukrainians escape their war-torn country, Jennifer Martison realized getting people out was only half the battle.

“The Ukrainians face huge challenges when they arrive here (in Canada), the government bureaucracy and requisite paperwork is daunting,” said Martison, who started the Ukraine Nightingale Project (UNP) last fall to help refugees of the war.

Continue reading ‘I couldn’t just sit back and watch’

Robyn Mawhinney: A Wharf Service for Area C

More than eight years have passed since Transport Canada (TC) transferred administration of three wharves to the Strathcona Regional District (SRD). Owen Bay on Sonora Island, Surge Narrows on Read Island, and Port Neville on the northern shore of the Johnstone Strait are all within Area C. The SRD was provided with $2.9 million for maintenance and upgrades that were to be completed sometime during the next decade. These upgrades have not yet occurred. Nor has a service to carry out operations and maintenance been established for Area C. Robyn Mawhinney, the new Regional Director, hopes to have this work well underway before the November 2024 deadline. 

Continue reading Robyn Mawhinney: A Wharf Service for Area C

As Broadcast over CKTZ, Whats Current on Cortes and Beyond